the cops), and flees the scene. He discovers that the diary contains a list of Laura’s ex-lovers. Sam is the next-to-last name on the list. He decides to track down the other names in the diary, hoping one of them is Laura’s killer.

Those familiar with the classic noir cinema of the 1940s and 50s will find some aspects of this synopsis very familiar. For starters, this book’s title, Night in the City, evokes the classic Richard Widmark movie, Night and the City (itself based on a 30s noir novel by Gerald Kersh). There’s an even closer connection between Sam’s deceased ex-girlfriend, Laura, and the title character of Otto Preminger’s Laura (based on a 40s noir novel by Vera Caspary). Both Lauras were women of mystery, leaving a trail of men behind them, and, in both works, the hero tries to find Laura’s murderer.

I can’t believe the similarities between Night in the City and these two noir classics are mere coincidences. It appears the author researched the trappings of noir fiction and incorporated much of what he found into Night in the City. I also think the extent of the author’s research may have been a night spent binge-watching Noir Alley on TCM. Further, although Night in the City is set in and around New York City, it has few geographical references besides the broadest mention of well-known neighborhoods like Spanish Harlem. Instead, the author provides generic dialogue that sounds like it was cobbled together from various phrases in better novels: “Traffic was loud and noisy, the sidewalks were jammed with hordes of rushing New Yorkers, and a stiff breeze off the harbor kicked newspaper litter into the air. Underneath was the ever-present hiss and rumble of the city; a living machine that was populated by seven million people. Some would not survive the night.” (Non-spoiler: the last sentence wasn’t foreshadowing. While some New Yorkers undoubtedly don’t survive any particular night, none of the book’s characters met their demise that evening.)

The novel’s central mystery surrounding the murder of Laura Neilson is quite good. Monroe soon learns that Laura had a troubled youth that led to her often wild adult behavior. The author has degrees in psychology and social work, and both serve him well as Monroe uncovers Laura’s past. I doubt a period novel or film would have explored Laura’s past to this degree, and Night in the City is a better novel for it. The ultimate reveal of Laura’s killer came as a surprise, but not an unfair one.

Unfortunately, Monroe’s investigation of Laura’s death gets buried beneath a subplot that winds up taking up more space despite being far less interesting. I can sum up the subplot in two words: crooked cops. Monroe had a history with some of those aforementioned crooked cops when he worked in the District Attorney’s office, and they came after him following Laura’s murder. Most of the police in the book are crooked, and they keep trying to beat Monroe up, kill him, or frame him for Laura’s murder. Night in the City is a short novel, and having Monroe spend most of his time dealing with police corruption leaves far too little space for a fully fleshed-out murder investigation.

If you remove the corrupt cop subplot, what’s left in Night in the City barely qualifies as a novella. It’s a good story of the sort that formed the basis for some of Raymond Chandler and Ross MacDonald’s better work. But while Philip Marlowe or Lew Archer would have gradually brought out every sordid detail of the backstory, Sam Monroe merely scratches the surface in his investigation before the author conveniently wraps up the story.  

I also abhorred the author’s overreliance on tired genre tropes. Soon after Laura’s death, Monroe learns she had hired a female private investigator, DJ Ryan. What follows is a thoroughly predictable and ultimately ridiculous romance where she repeatedly falls for Monroe, gets upset with him over some triviality, and breaks up with him, then forgives him. Ryan’s capacity for unforgiving anger, followed by absolute forgiveness, is astonishing. Readers could create a good drinking game by downing a shot every time Ryan and Monroe break up and then make up. They could also create similar drinking games by imbibing every time Monroe has a gun stolen or confiscated (he keeps every fence in New York City busy) or every time he gets slapped around.  

Night in the City is a short novel whose repetitious plot strands make it seem much longer. Those annoying, clichéd subplots take readers out of the far more interesting murder mystery for chapters at a time. It annoyed me that a talented writer, who knows how to create a good whodunit, let mediocre noir stereotypes repeatedly get in the way. Despite my enjoyment of the central storyline, I can’t recommend Night in the City.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.